In Which a Highly Unusual Ghost is Discovered
by Ava Taggart
Summary: Hanna and company get hired to go to another town to track a ghost - but it just so happens that the town is Amity Park and the ghost in question is Danny Phantom. How will Danny manage to keep his secret from a group of paranormal investigators? Rated T because, hey, HiNaBN, so you know there's going to be strong language.
1. Chapter 1 - Free Vacation

**Hey Guys! This is my first Fanfiction, so please let me know how I can improve! I'm not sure how regularly I'll be able to update, so don't worry if you don't hear from me for a while - I have a lot on my plate right now but still wanted to get this out there.**

**I do not own either Hanna is Not a Boy's Name or Danny Phantom.**

Chapter One - Free Vacation

It's close to midnight. A rickety minivan with peeling green paint turns a corner, and the driver asks someone in the backseat, "Which way do we turn _now_?"

"Left," comes the response.

The driver in question happens to be Conrad. The man giving him directions? The zombie. Hanna sits shotgun, and he's hyper. Like, twelve 5-Hour Energies hyper.

"Man," Hanna says, pressing his face against the window to take in the unfamiliar sights. "I can't _believe _someone from _another town_ found out about us and decided to hire us. Think about it - we're practically famous."

"I wouldn't exactly call being heard of in Amity Park _famous_," Veser sneers from the backseat, where he's sandwiched between Toni and the zombie. "It's practically spitting distance from home."

"Still," Hanna says. "It's pretty huge for me."

"Yeah, for _you_," Veser says. "Why are you dragging the rest of us along?"

Hanna looks into the backseat. "Well, _you_ don't exactly have anywhere better to be, do you? There's no way Conrad's letting you stay at his place while he's not there."

"Thank you! _Someone_ understands that -," Conrad starts to say, but he's cut off by Hanna, who looks between Toni and his undead partner and says, "And you guys came because you wanted to, right?"

The zombie nods, then looks down at the map in his hands and tells Conrad to turn right. Toni shrugs.

"I wanted to help, and hey, free vacation, right?" she ventures.

Hanna sighs and turns to face the front again. "Still, even Amity Park is a big deal. To be honest, when I became a paranormal investigator, I didn't really expect it to go so well."

"Well? You think it went well?" Veser snickers. "Please. What have you really done? Piss off a bunch of vampires, make Conrad into one, and find Lee's ghost."

"Hey, it _was_ a big help for us to not have stuff break every time someone sings off-key," Toni put in. "Rehearsals have been going much smoother."

"Exactly!" Hanna cries. "And it's not like we're being hired to do anything _super _major here anyways."

"Of _course_ not," Conrad says, getting angry. "That's _exactly_ why you still haven't told any of us why the hell we're making the drive over to Amity. Clearly."

"Okay okay," Hanna says. "Sheesh. I was going to tell you . . . when we got there."

"More like when something pops in our faces trying to kill us," Conrad mutters.

"Fine. I'll tell. This girl named Paula -"

"I think it was Paulina," the zombie interrupts.

"Okay, so this girl named _Paulina_ says there's this ghost in the town - "

"_Another _fucking ghost?!" Conrad shouts.

" - that shows up occasionally and then disappears - "

"Clearly I'm being ignored again," Conrad mutters.

" - and she hired us to find out where he goes!" Hanna looks into the backseat with a huge grin.

"So we're here to tail a ghost?" Toni asks, puzzled that they've come all this way for something like this.

"Yes! It shouldn't be too hard - "

Veser bursts out laughing.

"What's so funny?" Hanna asks.

"Dude, I hate to break it to you, but you got your _ass kicked_ last time you took on a ghost, and he didn't even have a reason to hate you. Now you want to follow a ghost that _clearly_ has some fucking deep privacy issues and you're thinking it's all gonna go just great?"

Hanna faces front again and fumes.

"Well, at least I know this won't be a boring trip," Veser says. "I'll get to see you knocked out cold, like, twenty times the first day - "

Toni puts a hand on Veser's shoulder to stop him.

"I think we might want to wrap things up for tonight," she says. "Any idea how long before we - "

"We're here," Conrad announces. Hanna and the zombie look out the window at the hotel where the five will be staying. The building looks new, like it's been recently painted.

"Well, we'd better head in," Hanna says, unbuckling his seat belt. "We'll start in the morning."


	2. Chapter 2 - New Arrivals

**Hey guys! If you're reading this, thanks! I didn't expect so many people to read it when I put it up, so thank you!  
**

**I wasn't planning on updating so soon, but I had the chapter ready and figured I might as well. **

**I probably should have mentioned this in the last chapter, but this story falls shortly after the end of Chapter Two and before the beginning of Chapter Three for HiNaBN.**

**For the DP continuity, I'm not really sure where this story falls. It probably takes place soon after "Secret Weapons", but I might add something that happens later in the series if it works with the story.**

**I do not own either Hanna is Not a Boy's Name or Danny Phantom.**

Chapter Two - New Arrivals

Danny and Tucker are hanging out at the Nasty Burger, trying to enjoy the rest of the day before they go back to school tomorrow.

"Man, I wish weekends were longer," Tucker says.

"You think you have it hard? I spent all yesterday chasing ghosts that Jazz let out of the Thermos. _Today_ is my weekend, if I'm lucky and no more ghosts show up." Danny moans, resting his head on top of his arms.

"Okay, that's pretty rough man," Tucker admits.

The doors fly open and Sam walks in. Danny lifts his head up and sees her.

"Hi Sam," Danny says immediately, moving over in the booth to make room for her. Sam sits and says, "Hey guys, guess what?"

"You managed to convince that store in the mall to stop selling makeup tested on animals?" Tucker ventures.

"No, I'm still working on that. That stupid store has no compassion _at all_."

"Well, what is it then?" Danny asks, trying to get Sam back on track.

"I'm not sure you're gonna like this," Sam says. "Paulina's walking around the mall bragging that she's hired a group of paranormal detectives to follow Danny Phantom until she knows where he disappears to all the time."

"Shit," Danny mutters. Usually, he's not one to swear, but this is bad. He says as much himself.

"This is bad, guys."

"Aw, come on, man. It shouldn't be too hard. All the ghost hunters that have come here in the past weren't that much of a problem," Tucker whines. "It'll be easy to lose them. After all, you _do_ have ghost powers."

"I know, but it may just be these guys are serious, not like those ghost hunters that Vlad's hired before." Danny says. He turns to Sam. "Did she say anything about what kind of track record these guys have?" he asks her.

"Not really," she admits.

"Not a problem!" Tucker says, whipping out his PDA. "I'll just do a search on them - where are these guys from, exactly?"

Sam told him.

"Man, that's close to here," Danny says. "They'll probably have experience with the kind of ghosts we get."

He swears again.

"Don't worry, Danny. it's gonna be fine," Sam reassures him. "And we know ahead of time, so we can prepare, right?"

"Got it!" Tucker says. "Man, this is a pretty showy website for having almost nothing on it. Here we go - huh."

"What?" Danny moans.

"Well, they haven't done too much. Apparently they helped get a vampire out of some guy's apartment and got rid of one ghost."

"That's it?" Sam asks.

"Yeah, they only have one reference, someone named Toni Ipres who says they did a great job removing a ghost from some theater."

"So they do have ghost experience," Danny says, resting his head on his hands. "Great. Just what I need, experienced ghost hunters trying to tail Phantom."

"Don't worry, man, they're not all that experienced," Tucker says. "I mean, _one_ ghost isn't exactly expertise."

"Yeah Danny, you've dealt with way more ghost hunters than these guys have ghosts," Sam adds.

"Okay, I guess you're right," Danny admits. "It's just that - "

Danny is interrupted by the doors to the Nasty Burger flying open. The three teens look over to the entrance, where five of the most random-looking people they've ever seen stand.

The most normal-looking one - and the shortest - stands in front. He's got wild red hair and huge glasses, and he looks around the Nasty Burger with an insane amount of confidence for someone who's never been there before - at least as far as the teens can tell, since they've never seen him here before. Behind him stands a guy with wicked pale skin and glasses wearing a black turtleneck, white vest, and white pants, who looks intensely uncomfortable for no apparent reason. One of his canine teeth sticks out of his mouth in an odd way. Next to him stands the one girl of the group, who's got dark skin and darker hair with blue streaks and tufts in it. Her clothes are crazy colorful - Sam cringes at the neon green hair barrettes and bright _everything_.

She's shoved aside by a guy entering - people in front of him are blocking most of him, but it's clear he's got huge green eyes and gray hair. That probably isn't good. If he wasn't with a group of ghost hunters, Danny might have even thought he was a ghost, though he definitely wasn't ruling the possibility out. Another person bumps into the guy with gray hair, who swears - and when he does, Danny spots his sharp teeth. Definitely not good.

The first four are so distracting that the fifth is barely noticeable at first, even though he towers above the rest. He seems to be trying to keep himself covered - or at least, that would explain the jacket, gloves, fedora, sunglasses, and winter scarf despite the warm weather. The sunglasses are the only thing that even make sense.

After a good deal of noise, most of it unintelligible and the rest impossible to make sense of, the five manage to squeeze into a booth in the far corner of the Nasty Burger.

"You think that's them?" Tucker asks, turning in his seat to get another glimpse at the five - or at least at the girl.

"Yeah," Danny says.

"They don't look too professional," Sam says. "In fact, they look sort of mismatched."

"Well, unfortunately that doesn't mean they're incompetent. Look at us, after all," Danny says.

"Touché," Sam says.

"Let's get out of here," Danny says.

"But dude, this is the perfect opportunity to get some more info on them," Tucker pouts.

"Come on Tucker, you know you just want to stare at the girl," Sam says, standing and dragging a protesting Tucker out of his seat.

"Anyways, I have a feeling I'm going to be seeing way too much of them," Danny says, standing and following his friends out of the Nasty Burger.

He was right.

**Ghosts (including DP) will show up in the next chapter. Which ghost would you like to see Danny fight? Which ghost should welcome Hanna and co. to Amity Park? Let me know!  
**


	3. Chapter 3 - Beware!

**Thanks to everyone still reading and to those of you that have followed this story and/or reviewed it - you guys are awesome!**

**Please feel free to request that I add any ghosts you'd like to see - there will be at least two more ghost attacks and multiple opportunities for ghosts to show up. Please read and review!**

**I do not own Hanna is Not a Boy's Name or Danny Phantom.**

* * *

Chapter Three - Beware!

It was night now. The sky was dark and streetlights were just beginning to flicker on. The crew had settled into their hotel rooms, had lunch at some local fast food restaurant called the Nasty Burger, and spent the rest of the day talking to their employer, who was indeed named Paulina. No one was sure how she had the money to hire them, since she was still in high school, but Hanna wasn't complaining. She'd filled them in on the 'ghosts', and the more they heard, the less they believed. Now they were walking down the street, hoping to catch sight of the ghost they were supposed to follow, who apparently called himself Danny Phantom.

"That girl was crazy," Veser says. "I mean, she sounded like she actually believes that there are dozens of ghosts running around all the time."

"Well, if she's crazy, so are the papers," Toni says. "I couldn't find a single one without any mention of ghosts."

"Yeah, did they _all_ say things about ghosts being able to shoot lightning and demolish buildings?" Conrad asks, worried. "If they really can, we're so screwed."

"These people don't know shit about what ghosts can actually do," Veser says. "Whatever they've been dealing with, it isn't ghosts."

"Guys, even if he isn't a ghost, we were hired to track Phantom and apparently waiting for one of those attacks is the best way to find him," Hanna says.

"Why do you think that is, anyways?" Toni asks. "How come he always shows up at the scene of an attack?"

"It is possible he might be the one orchestrating them," the zombie offered.

"Hannibal, that's crazy," Hanna says. "Paulina was talking about him like he was Superman, One Direction, and Captain America rolled into one."

Veser snickers.

"It was merely an idea," the zombie says.

"What if it isn't, though?" Conrad asks, stopping in the middle of the road. "What if Phantom is actually orchestrating the attacks, and just makes himself out to be a hero?"

"Yeah, just 'cause Paulina thinks he's the greatest thing since makeup doesn't mean he is," Veser adds. "She didn't seem to be that smart; maybe he's evil and she just doesn't see it."

"Guys, I don't think Phantom is evil," Hanna says. "If he was, someone would probably be trying to get rid of him."

"Am I the only one who bothered to look at a paper?" Toni asks. "The town's ghost hunters definitely want to kill or capture him. They say all ghosts are evil and it's just an act."

"So they want to kill him, but it's because of a generalization?" Hanna asks.

"It looks that way. I don't think it means he's evil - these people want to kill _all_ ghosts," Toni says. "But there are people trying to destroy him."

Veser starts laughing.

"What's so funny?" Conrad demands.

"They sound like ghost Nazis or something," Veser says. "Kill all the ghosts!" he adds in a ridiculous accent and then starts laughing again.

"I don't know how there could be so many ghosts - or whatever is actually here - and nobody's done anything yet," Toni says.

"Why? How many ghosts do people think there are?" Hanna asks, excited.

"A lot," Toni says. "Mostly the same ones keep coming over and over again, but still a lot."

"Maybe the whole thing's a joke, some kind of tourist trap," Conrad suggests. Toni thinks it over and shakes her head.

"I don't know," she says. "A tourist trap that requires enormous property damage, multiple faked photos, and scaring a lot of actual tourists off? They've got so much evidence for the existence of ghosts I don't see how it could all be faked. Some of it might be, but there's at least a bit of truth to it. The real question is just how much truth there is."

"Well, for now we'd better assume that Phantom is real and that he shows up whenever one of these other ghost-things attacks. We can work from there," Hanna says.

"If a ghost-thing ever shows up," Veser grumbles. "We've been walking forever and still nothing. Isn't this town supposed to be haunted or something?"

The crew hears an echoing voice behind them.

"Beware! For I am the Box Ghost, with power over all containers cardboard and square! You will tremble before my corrugated cardboard boxes _of doom_!"

The five turn around. Floating about two feet above the street is a glowing blue man. He's overweight and wearing overalls and a hat. He doesn't look all that threatening, but the crew doesn't want to take any chances. Four members of the group run out of the street into trash-filled alleys and between cars parked on the street, taking shelter in case the 'Box Ghost' turns out to be dangerous. Hanna just looks up at the self-proclaimed Box Ghost with awe. The zombie pulls him to the side of the road as the Box Ghost starts ranting about taking over the world with boxes, and how all humans will cower in fear from him. As he speaks, a few cardboard boxes start floating out of alleys to hover around the Box Ghost.

Hanna realizes that as harmless as this guy may look, he may actually be dangerous. He pulls a magic marker out of his pocket and carefully writes a protective rune on his palm, because he can't afford to pass out again here, far from Doc Worth and thus from (mostly) reliable medical help.

All five members of the group have collected themselves and are about ready to deal with the Box Ghost when they hear another voice. This one is strange and echoing, like the Box Ghost's, but is definitely different.

"Not you again," it says. Whines, really. Hanna pokes his head out from behind a parked car and sees that the Box Ghost is no longer alone.

Another figure floats above the ground, also glowing, but he couldn't be more different from the Box Ghost. This one is lean and muscular, wearing a skintight black jumpsuit with white gloves, boots, and belt. He has white hair and glowing green eyes. He seems almost bored as he pulls out a silver and green thermos - seriously, a thermos - and prepares to deal with the ghost, still talking as he does so, though Hanna doesn't pay attention to what he says. In fact, Hanna finds himself coming out from behind the car to get a better view, despite the zombie's protests.

The floating boy uncaps the thermos and a beam of blue light comes out of the top, trapping the Box Ghost and pulling him into the thermos. As the boy caps the thermos, Hanna catches sight of the logo of sorts on the boy's chest.

A white D with a P inside of it.

Looks like they've found Danny Phantom.


	4. Chapter 4 - Some Things Never Change

**Hello readers! I will most likely not be updating for the next few days for a couple reasons - I don't have the next chapter finished yet and the next few days are really busy for me, so I won't get a chance to. Don't worry - chapter five will come! It may just be a little while.  
**

**I do not own Hanna is Not a Boy's Name or Danny Phantom.**

* * *

Chapter Four - Some Things Never Change

After leaving the Nasty Burger, Danny and his friends walk to Sam's house to play video games - after all, she's the one with huge TVs and all the new gaming systems. Despite the attempts Sam and Tucker make to get him to relax, Danny's worried about the paranormal investigators that Paulina has hired.

He knows next to nothing about the people, but isn't sure what that means for him. It's possible that they'd really only handled one ghost in their career, or maybe two - after all, vampires don't exist, so that first case was probably a ghost that looked like a vampire. Or maybe they'd dealt with so many ghosts that it wasn't worth mentioning them all. Even the possibility of the latter makes Danny nervous. If they find out his secret, will they tell others? Study and dissect him? Submit him to tests? Try to capture him? There's no way to know.

"Earth to Danny," Sam says, waving her hand in front of his face. Danny realizes he's still at Sam's house, with a video game controller in his hands. He looks to the TV screen and sees that Tucker hasn't wasted the time Danny was thinking about other things and has beaten him at the game. Danny can't bring himself to care.

"Maybe you should go home and get some sleep. We _do_ have school tomorrow," Sam says.

"That's probably a good idea," Danny says. "Who know how much sleep I'm going to get with 'paranormal detectives' chasing after Phantom?"

"I'm sure it'll be fine, Danny," Sam reassures him. She looks to Tucker for confirmation, but he's started a single player game and is totally absorbed in it.

"It'll be fine," Sam says again, but slightly louder. "Right, Tucker?" she asks.

"Huh? Oh yeah, I'm sure they'll be no problem for you, man," Tucker says halfheartedly before cheering as he reaches a new high score.

"Well, as reassuring as _that_ was, it can't hurt to be prepared. See you tomorrow, Sam," Danny says.

"See you tomorrow," Sam says.

Danny leaves Sam's mansion and begins walking to FentonWorks. One good thing might come of leaving Sam's early - at this pace, he'll make curfew.

Danny's ghost sense goes off, and a wisp of bluish mist comes from his mouth.

"Just great, Fenton," he mutters to himself, running into an alley to go ghost. "You had to jinx it."

Danny reaches the alley and climbs over piles of garbage bags until he's far enough into the alley that he's sure that no one walking by will see him. "Going ghost," he mumbles out of habit. Pale blue rings of light appear around his waist and split, one traveling up and one traveling down. As the rings pass over him, Danny's appearance changes. His T-shirt and jeans are replaced by a black skintight jumpsuit with white gloves, boots, belt, and insignia. His black hair turns white, his blue eyes turn a glowing, almost toxic green, and he glows slightly. Once the rings pass over his entire body, they disappear, and Danny leaps into the air and begins flying, trying to find the ghost that set his ghost sense off.

It doesn't take too long to find the ghost, considering that it turns out to be the Box Ghost. He's talking to what appears to be an empty street until Danny spots a couple of people crouching behind a parked car. These people must have just moved here or something - no one who's been in Amity Park for any amount of time fears the Box Ghost.

"Not you again," Danny complains, drawing the Box Ghost's attention from the first people he's managed to frighten in months.

"I put you back into the Ghost Zone, what, a couple hours ago?" Danny asks, annoyed. He pulls out the Fenton Thermos and prepares to use it on the Box Ghost.

"Hah, that puny cylindrical container is no match for the sheer power of the Box Ghost!" the Box Ghost cries out.

"Oh yeah?" Danny asks. "Then let me try . . . this!"

Danny quickly pulls the top off the Thermos and a beam of blue light comes out. He centers the beam on the Box Ghost, who is sucked into the Thermos, shouting, "Fear me!" as he disappears into the small metal cylinder.

Danny slings the Thermos over his shoulder on its strap, relieved that this ghost encounter is over, and that it went so smoothly.

Relieved, at least, until his eyes land on the short redhead from the Nasty Burger earlier today, who is now standing in the middle of the road. The paranormal investigator.

Said investigator is now gaping with awe at Danny.

"That was amazing!" he cries, and Danny flinches at his enthusiasm. This guy reminds him of his dad when he's got a new ghost invention to blather on about.

Danny finds that, in fact, this man is going on and on in a way very similar to his dad. He tunes back in just as the rant dies down, and the redhead seems to regain his composure. He wipes some dirt off his shirt and stretches his hand out to Danny as though he wants to shake hands.

"I'm Hanna Falk Cross, paranormal detective," he says. "And you're Danny Phantom, right?"

Danny pauses for a moment, not entirely sure what to do. This guy isn't like any ghost hunter he's ever met before - other than his dad, at least - but he is here to find out Danny's secret. Therefore, Danny decides not to shake and crosses his arms over his chest, rising into the air and looking down at the investigator.

"I know who you are, and what you're here for," Danny says. "And I suggest that you don't try to follow me, or I'll shove you someplace worse than the Thermos." He lets his eyes glow a bit with the last words, and sees that the redhead is seriously freaked out, but now the other paranormal detectives are coming out from alleys and behind cars.

Danny floats a bit higher, glares at Hanna to discourage him from following, and then dashes off towards home, feeling conflicted about scaring the guy like that. He was bluffing through the whole thing, but the man - Hanna - didn't know that. Danny didn't like the fact that he had scared Hanna, but if scaring the guy kept him from tailing Phantom, it was worth a shot. Danny flies towards home, knowing he's already late for curfew.

Again.

Apparently, there are a few things about hunting ghosts that never change.


	5. Chapter 5 - The Chase

**Sorry this took so long! This chapter contains less dialogue than previous chapters, and sadly, dialogue is what I'm best at writing when a story is third person. I hope it turned out okay; please let me know if there's anything that could improve it! The next chapter shouldn't take quite as long.  
**

**Thanks to everyone who has followed, favorited, or reviewed this story! Please review and let me know how I can improve or what you'd like to see - if you send a request for a particular ghost to appear, I will do my best to make it happen!**

**I do not own Hanna is Not a Boy's Name or Danny Phantom.**

* * *

Chapter Five - The Chase

"I know who you are, and what you're here for," the floating ghost boy - Danny Phantom - says. "And I suggest that you don't try to follow me, or I'll shove you someplace worse than the Thermos." His eyes glow an unearthly green with his words, and he glares at Hanna before flying off. Toni, Conrad, Veser, and the zombie come out from their hiding places and join Hanna standing in the street, watching the ghost fly away.

"Are you going after him or what?" Veser asks.

"Hell yes, I'm going," Hanna says, snapping back to reality and running down the street after the ghost. The other four reluctantly follow him.

All Hanna can see of Danny Phantom is a glowing streak across the sky, going incredibly fast. Hanna chases after the ghost, speeding down streets and around corners, through alleys and around parked cars, keeping his eyes locked onto the glowing streak and sprinting as fast as he can behind it. Toni, Conrad, Veser, and the zombie sprint to keep up with Hanna, whose enthusiasm grants him a speed he doesn't normally possess.

Hanna grins as he chases the ghost. His confidence is growing, building himself back up in his mind. Surely, if he keeps running, keeps his eyes on the ghost, manages to stay on streets leading him towards the ghost and not away, he'll catch up. The ghost can't keep going that fast forever. Sooner or later, its energy will wear out and it will slow - and then Hanna will have another chance to get some information from Danny Phantom.

This trip is going exceptionally well, in Hanna's mind at least - until he runs into a brick wall at the end of an alley and falls to the ground, the breath knocked out of his lungs.

"Ugh," Hanna moans from his spot on the asphalt. The zombie rounds the corner and runs to check on Hanna. Veser, Toni, and Conrad follow, and the five regroup. Hanna, with the help of the zombie, sits up and adjusts his glasses, which were knocked askew but thankfully not broken in his fall.

"Where'd he go?" Hanna asks as soon as he can think again.

"Dude, unlike you, we kept our eyes on where we were running. We were following you," Veser says, leaning against the wall Hanna ran into.

"Well, we're just gonna have to go back out and find him then," Hanna says, trying to stand but wobbling. The zombie catches him and helps him stand upright.

"Thanks, Dominick," Hanna says.

"It's no problem," the zombie responds.

"So, Danny Phantom was heading . . . that way. I think," Hanna says, pointing past the wall at the end of the alley and slightly to the right.

"So," Hanna begins muttering. "We'll need to find a quick way to get around this alley and start heading that way as soon as possible. If we hurry, maybe we can spot his glow and see if there's a shortcut to follow him." The mutters devolve into unintelligible noises as Hanna's planning becomes completely internalized.

"Guys?" Toni asks, seeing if anyone is listening to her. All four turn their heads towards her with varying delays.

"Maybe it's time to go back to the hotel for the night," Toni suggests. "We're not going to find Danny Phantom by running around the streets at random."

"It helped us find him the first time," Veser points out.

"No, Toni's right. Phantom was going way too fast for us to be able to follow on foot. I was hoping he'd slow down, but no such luck," Hanna says, hanging his head.

"Well, that's great. Just great. Really, I _wanted_ to spend my night chasing down an incredibly fast ghost," Conrad says.

"It's not like you run out of breath or anything," Veser points out.

"That doesn't mean it's fucking _fun_," Conrad fumes.

"So, show of hands, who's in favor of going back to the hotel?" Toni asks, raising her hand. Conrad raises his own hand, and after a delay, the zombie lifts his hand some.

"Algernon?" Hanna questions, hoping the zombie will lower his hand so they can keep searching.

"At this point, it's most likely best to plan our next moves. We don't know how the next few days will go yet; it would be useful to have some idea what we'll do. And it couldn't hurt to get a few hours of sleep," the zombie explains.

"Fine," Hanna fumes. "We'll go back. Which way is it?"

The five look at each other, hoping someone will speak up and know the answer. Thankfully, they're right.

Conrad sighs.

"Follow me," he says, trudging out of the alley.

"Thanks, Conrad," Hanna says.

"Well, _one_ of us has to know where it is, and after tonight, I don't think it can be you," Conrad says snarkily.

"You're probably right," Hanna admits, now talking to the whole group. "I should have waited until we knew a bit more to try chasing Phantom, but it's not exactly like there's a ghost encyclopedia or something where you can just look these things up."

Toni stops in the middle of the street, thinking. As soon as the others realize she's stopped, they pause as well, waiting for her to continue walking.

"Everything all right?" Hanna asks, wondering why Toni has decided to stop walking.

"More than all right," Toni responds. She smiles and starts walking again.

"How so?" the zombie asks.

"I think I might just know exactly where we can learn more about our new friend," Toni says, smirking.


	6. Chapter 6 - Uninvited Guests

**Hello! Sorry this chapter took so long - there are too many reasons it is late to list them all, but mainly this: when I started writing this story, I hadn't watched many episodes recently, so I took some time to watch the rest of the episodes.  
**

**Thanks to everyone who has read this fic and is still reading! **

**Also, sorry if this is really short, I just wanted to get it up and didn't think it needed to be really long.**

**Please forgive me if this chapter is terrible - I had part of it written but apparently didn't save it so now it's gone and I've had to rewrite it. **

**I do not own Hanna is Not a Boy's Name or Danny Phantom.**

* * *

Chapter Six - Uninvited Guests

Unfortunately, no matter how awful Danny's weekend was, the school week still came. Danny ended up falling asleep in class and only missed detention because the Box Ghost had attacked before his punishment was finalized. For once, Danny was glad it was so easy for the Box Ghost to escape the Ghost Zone. Still, it had been a long day, and Danny opened the front door of FentonWorks on Monday looking forward to collapsing on his bed and spending some time doing something other than worrying about the paranormal investigators - like sleeping.

Unfortunately, said paranormal investigators are sitting on his couch, listening to his parents with varying levels of intensity, except for the kid with gray hair, who looks like he wants to fall asleep as much as Danny does.

Danny walks to the stairs, hoping no one will notice him.

It doesn't work.

"Hi Danny!" His mom calls.

Danny flinches at the sound of his mom's voice. It sounds . . . happy. The kind of happy his parents can only get when they're talking about ghosts.

"Danny, why don't you come on down and meet these people - they want to know more about _ghosts_!" Jack calls up the stairs.

"Do I have rotten luck or what?" Danny mutters, then calls back down to his dad, "Uh, not right now, dad. I have, um, homework! I have homework to do so I'm going to go do it!"

Danny runs up the stairs and into his room, then shuts the door and locks it. He sits on the floor, staring up at his NASA posters for a moment, then picks up his cell phone and dials both Sam and Tucker, putting them on 3-way.

"Hi Danny," Tucker says.

"Hey Danny, what's up?" Sam asks.

"They're in my house," Danny whispers, looking nervously at the door like someone's going to come barging into the room with some kind of ghost weapon.

"The ghost hunters?" Tucker asks.

"Who else?!" Danny says. "They're talking with my parents about ghosts."

"More like one ghost, I'm guessing," Sam says.

"Yeah, and I'm guessing I know who that ghost is," Danny moans.

"What's the big deal, man?" Tucker asks. "It's not like your parents are going to tell them who you are; I don't think they would even if they knew."

"Well, no one's going to come right out and say it to them, but what if these guys manage to put together the pieces my parents haven't?"

"Is Jazz with them?" Sam asks.

"Yeah, but I don't trust her not to give pieces away by accident. These guys are supposed to be professionals. If she's acting weird, they might figure it out."

"Come on, Danny, give your sister a little more credit. Jazz might be able to steer them away from you, and she wouldn't do anything to give your secret away," Sam says, trying to reassure Danny.

"Maybe not on purpose," Danny says. "But what if something gets said by accident?"

"Danny, you're worrying too much. You're going to have a heart attack or something," Tucker says. "I'm guessing they'd notice if you went down there and overshadowed your parents, so there's nothing you can do to change things. Just calm down."

"I guess you're right," Danny says.

"Of course he is," Sam says. "Just try not to think about it."

"It's hard to do that when _they're downstairs right now_."

"Fine. You want to come to my house instead?" Sam says.

"I don't really know . . . "

"You're coming," Sam says.

"What about me?" Tucker says.

"Sure, you can come too," Sam says.

"Sweet! Almost makes up for the fact you two forgot I was on the phone . . . See you there!" Tucker says before he hangs up.

"Danny?" Sam asks. "You still there?"

"Yeah," Danny says.

"Don't worry. No one who lives here has figured out your secret yet, I doubt these people are going to."

"But what if -"

"Hey, don't worry about it until it happens. I'll see you at my house, okay?"

"Okay."

Sam hangs up.

Danny feels anything but reassured. He knows worrying won't do anything to help, but ignoring the problem, especially when it's _in his own living room_, seems risky.

Danny sighs and shakes his head. He told Sam he'd come to her house. He stands up. Today has been such a long day; maybe some time relaxing with his two best friends is what he needs after all.

"Goin' Ghost!" Danny cries, trying to keep his voice quiet so that no one downstairs will hear. The white rings sweep over him, changing him from Danny Fenton to Danny Phantom. Danny goes intangible, passes out of the house, and begins flying towards Sam's house.

He hopes that leaving the paranormal investigators alone with his parents isn't a mistake.


	7. Chapter 7 - Death by Pizza

**Hey guys! Thanks for reviewing, following, favoriting, and even just reading this story! It is amazing to come here and see so many people interested in what started as a "Hey, this might work" idea for a story. I know I've said this before, but please send in requests for ghosts you'd like to see! Ghost attacks will be picking up and I'm having trouble deciding just who will be attacking (and have chosen not to go the OC route because describing an OC in detail would probably make such an attack longer than most chapters). Please include requests in your reviews or PM them to me!  
**

**Also, I know some people are hoping I'll be able to post more often since school is out, but unfortunately I won't be able to as I have a really intensive driver's ed class over the summer. It'll end next month, and hopefully I'll have more time then, but until that happens, expect updates to be sporadic at best.  
**

**Sorry this is so late and double sorry if it sucks - I had a bunch written and my keyboard malfunctioned and it disappeared (again).**

**I do not own Hanna is Not a Boy's Name or Danny Phantom.**

* * *

Chapter Seven - Death by Pizza

Well, that was a waste of time. When Toni had thought of how to find more information on Phantom, no one had thought it would be by talking to the town ghost hunters. Logically, the ghost hunters _should_ have the most information on the ghost, seeing as they were the closest to ghosts in the town, but as the crew had figured out only after talking with them for hours, the couple actually knew very little about Phantom, or at least, about anything that would help them follow him. The woman, Maddie Fenton, had gone on in detail about what his anatomy might be like, as determined from previous "experiments" on other ghosts, while the the man had enthusiastically jabbered on about the experiments they would run on Phantom once they caught him, but neither seemed to really know about what kind of limits his powers have.

This leaves Hanna no better off than he was before - in fact, quite a bit worse, now that most of a day has been wasted.

"Those people knew _nothing_," Veser complains. "You'd think that _ghost hunters_ would know _something_ about _g__hosts_."

"Well," Hanna says. "We'll just have to find someone who knows more about ghosts than the Fentons do." He looks expectantly at Toni.

"What?" Toni asks. "Just because I'm the only one who bothered to glance at a paper doesn't mean I'm an expert on the town."

"Oh," Hanna says, his face sagging with disappointment. He pulls himself together after a moment and asks, "Well, where _could_ we find someone who might know more about ghosts than the Fentons?"

Everyone thinks for a moment.

"Perhaps we should try the mall," the zombie ventures. "If the town is as haunted as people claim, at least one or two people there should know plenty about Phantom."

Hanna's face lights up.

"That's a great idea, Barnabus!" he cries, then lowers his voice and asks, "Why didn't I think of that?"

"Great. Brilliant idea. Now we just have to _find the mall_," Conrad points out.

* * *

About half an hour later, the five stood in the entryway of Amity Park's most popular mall. To get there, they'd knocked on the Fenton's door and taken directions from their teenage daughter, then followed them to the best of their ability, only getting lost once or twice.

"So what's the plan, exactly?" Toni asks Hanna.

"Um, just . . . start talking to people and see if they know anything about Phantom," Hanna says.

"So wing it?" Conrad asks.

"Exactly," Hanna says. He begins walking in a random direction, trying to look like he knows what he's doing. The zombie follows right behind him.

"Should we go after him?" Toni asks.

"I don't know that it'll make a difference, but probably. We _might_ be able to keep him from getting into trouble," Conrad says.

"Yeah, that's a big maybe," Veser says. "Come on, I want to be there when something blows up in his face."

The three catch up with Hanna and the zombie in the food court, where they're talking to a couple of jocks wearing letter jackets that made Hanna look even younger than usual. Unfortunately, before they can get close enough to hear how much the jocks know about Phantom, something happens. The air chills and a funny green-blue tint is cast over the food court. The people inhabiting the food court started running away, some cowering under tables or inside stores, leaving Hanna and company standing alone and confused.

Then the ghost comes. At first it's nearly impossible to make out what he looks like, because he descends through the ceiling and almost immediately begins flying around the mall, into and out of stores, apparently searching for something. Each time he flies by, another detail becomes apparent. A white cape. A long black coat. Green skin and gloves. A white mullet.

None of the paranormal investigators know what to do. The only ghost they know anything about is Phantom, and they don't know much about even him.

"At last!" shouts the ghost upon entering a pizza place neighboring the food court. "I, Technus, Master of all Technology shall now be able to take over the world with the help of the technology in this very room!"

That didn't sound good.

Hanna was panicking. This ghost was most likely dangerous, and planning world domination. What should he do? What _could_ he do? He knew nothing about the ghosts in this town, had no idea what effect his runes would have on them, if any, and didn't know what this ghost could even do. He could try to fight him, of course, but this ghost was different from the others Hanna had fought before. The runes that usually worked might be worthless on it.

Fortunately, Hanna was spared having to decide whether or not to fight the ghost, because a second ghost appeared, flying in from another part of the mall. And this one Hanna recognized.

Danny Phantom quickly spotted the other ghost.

"Come on, Technus, I just put you in the Ghost Zone, like, a week ago," he complained.

The ghost turned, saw Phantom, and laughed.

"Did you really think that I would stay there?" he asked Phantom. "Your grades betray your ignorance, child. Why would I stay there when this world holds enough glorious technology for me to take over several worlds of its size?"

Several machines from inside the pizza place began to glow green and fly through the air, surrounding Technus.

"Still shouting out your plans, I see," Phantom shouted back. "For someone who claims to be master of technology, you're sure outdated."

It was at that point that Hanna dove under a table, as a glowing soda machine aimed at Phantom ended up flying at him instead. From his position under the table, Hanna could hear that the banter between the two ghosts was continuing, and he could sometimes see the two fighting. He was trying to keep track of Phantom's powers, but in a battle that moved far above his head at incredible speeds, it was nearly impossible to judge who had what powers. Still, it became clear that Phantom could fly faster than Hanna would ever be able to run, and possibly faster than he could drive (which was saying a lot, because Hanna usually drove like a maniac). He could also send out balls or beams of green energy that, from the way they threw Technus around, were more powerful than any of Hanna's runes.

Eventually the battle came to an end and Technus was sucked into Phantom's thermos in a beam of blue light. Hanna came out from under the table only to see Phantom flying through the ceiling and out of the food court. The rest of the people in the mall went back to shopping, eating, and talking, as if this happened every day, but something about the battle was nagging at Hanna. He had no idea what it was, but couldn't help feeling that some part of the ghost fight would help him find Phantom.

If he could only figure out what it was.


	8. Chapter 8 - They're Following Me!

**Thanks once more to everyone reading this (although I'm sure you're getting sick of hearing it)! It's here! Another chapter! Will wonders ever cease?**

**Apparently not. From now on I'm going to try to do weekly updates every Friday. Let's see how that goes.  
**

**To those of you that have checked out my profile recently or have me on Author Alert, you might have noticed I've started another story. Please don't murder me in my sleep! _Thi_****_s_ story does have a plot planned (however loosely) and it will be finished! Expect ten chapters after this one. The only thing to worry about is _when_ it will be finished. I'll try to have it done before the school year starts. In the meantime, why not go check out my other story? I****t's an Animorphs fic taking place in a dystopian AU (no knowledge of the books needed).  
**

**I apologize for the shameless self-promotion (but seriously, go take a look).**

**Also, quick question - a while ago I found a DP fanfic about Danny's first couple months with ghost powers and how he began to cope with them. What I read of it had a pretty serious tone. I now can't find it and don't remember the title. If you know of a fanfic about anything at all similar to this, whether it's still up or it was taken down, please PM me. **

**I'd also like to apologize for any terrible banter in this or any other chapters. I don't think it's my strong suit.  
**

**Please continue to send requests for ghosts you'd like to see. Unfortunately, most of the really powerful ghosts (Fright Night, Undergrowth, etc.) that people have been requesting would overpower the story if I put them in, so I'll save any requests of that nature for later (a sequel, maybe?). You're welcome to keep requesting them, but for now, I'm really looking to see which of the more common ghosts you guys would like to see more of - Ember? Skulker? Desiree? Please let me know if there's anyone you'd like to see more of, ghost or otherwise.**

**I do not own Hanna is Not a Boy's Name or Danny Phantom.**

* * *

Chapter Eight - They're Following Me!

"Let me get this straight - they were at the mall?" Tucker asks Danny. It's the next day, and the three sit in the crowded lunchroom, counting on the noise generated by surrounding tables to mask their conversation.

"Yeah," Danny says.

"Any idea what they were doing there?" Sam asks.

"Not a clue. All I know is one minute I'm fighting Technus, the next I see that Hanna guy cowering under a table," Danny says.

"Cowering? Really?" Tucker asks.

"If only they would cower from Phantom, instead of chasing me and asking questions," Danny says.

At that moment, the doors to the cafeteria burst open.

Danny turns away from the door and puts his head down on the table, covering it with his arms.

"Please tell me it's not them," he says.

Sam and Tucker raise themselves off their seats to get a better view of who opened the doors.

"Wish I could do that," Sam says.

"Please tell me you're joking," Danny moans.

"Nope," Tucker says.

Danny sits up and turns in his seat to see the door. Sure enough, there stand the five paranormal investigators.

"Okay, _how have they not found Phantom yet_? Because they're clearly following me," Danny says.

"I don't think they are," Sam says.

"Well, why else would they be here?" Danny asks.

"I'm not sure," Sam says. "Maybe they heard about all the ghost attacks we get here."

"No, they're following me," Danny says.

"Really? Then why are they all the way across the room?" Sam asks. Danny turns his head to look, and sure enough, the paranormal investigators show no signs of even coming close to where Danny sits, instead splitting up and talking to seemingly random people in the cafeteria. The girl with blue hair streaks is talking to Star and a couple of other popular girls, the tall guy is deep in conversation with the woman behind the lunch counter, Hanna is chatting with a couple of nerds, and the kid and the pale guy are questioning the lunchroom attendant. None of them are even looking at the trio with anything more than passing glances.

"Or maybe they're not following me," Danny says.

"See?" Sam says. "You were just being paranoid."

"Yeah, I guess," Danny says reluctantly.

"Dude, those guys are only here because we get attacked by ghosts so much," Tucker says. "And there's no ghost attacking, so you have nothing to worry about."

Just then, a wisp of blueish fog escaped Danny's mouth.

"Thanks for jinxing it, Tucker," Danny says.

Tucker knows better than to say anything.

The lights fade, changing the appearance of the room, throwing it into a dark, eerie color scheme. Danny grabs a Fenton Thermos from his backpack and slides under the table, allowing the blue-white rings of light to sweep over him and transform him into Danny Phantom, but then he waits to see which ghost will appear, and where. Will it be Skulker? Ember? Technus again?

Turns out all of his guesses are wrong. Descending through the ceiling of the cafeteria, holding his arms above his head and trying desperately to look menacing, is the Box Ghost.

"Beware, for I am the Box Ghost, controller of all containers cardboard and square!" he shouts, then he hangs in midair for a moment, waiting to see if anyone starts screaming, or running, or even being nervous, but no one other than the paranormal investigators even responds to him. Hanna and his gang stare up at the ghost, then the tall one nudges Hanna and says something to him. Hanna pulls out a marker and scrawls something on his palm.

"What could possibly be so important that you have to write it down in the middle of a ghost attack?" Danny wonders. "It may only be the Box Ghost, but still."

Danny decides to stay under the table and watch for now. After all, it's just the Box Ghost, it's not like anyone will get hurt.

_Stupid_, Danny thinks. _I can't think like that. I can't become _him_._

The encounter with Dan, his evil older self, is still fresh in Danny's mind, and now he can't help but wonder which choices could lead him to become _that; _he's pretty sure abandoning people to a ghost is somewhere on that road, even if the people _are_ trying to figure out his secret. He prepares to leave the area under the table only to see Hanna's palm filling with glowing pink smoke. Danny watches in astonishment as Hanna points his hand at the Box Ghost and the smoke solidifies into a beam of fluid power that arcs towards the Box Ghost and knocks him into the wall.

"What the - " Danny says as he watches the Box Ghost smack into the wall. His eyes find Hanna's hand, still smoking with pink energy. Hanna looks nervous as he realizes that every student in the cafeteria is now looking at him. Danny takes this opportunity to fly out from underneath the table and join the Box Ghost in the air.

"Your pink beams of pain are merely a temporary inconvenience!" the Box Ghost shouts. "I _will_ take over the world with my mighty cardboard minions despite the agony inflicted by your weapon!" No one pays him any attention except Danny.

"That actually hurt?" Danny asks. If the paranormal investigators have a weapon that could hurt a ghost, why hadn't they just shot Phantom out of the sky and questioned him before? And how did they even get a ghost weapon in the first place? The only people he knows that make ghost hunting gear that works are his parents, but they'd never made anything remotely similar to what Hanna has.

"I am as surprised as you are," the Box Ghost says, wincing at the memory of the pain. He steels his face against the pain and tries to look terrifying. Key word: _tries_.

"Despite the pain, I will still take over the world, and you, childlike pain-wielder, shall be the first to taste my corrugated fury! Your pink rays will not stop me!"

Danny rolls his eyes, but this is something he _definitely_ has to deal with. The last thing he needs is for the Box Ghost to go around attacking people. Danny holds the Thermos in front of him, pointed at the oblivious Box Ghost, holding it with one hand while his other rests on the cap, ready to pull it off.

"Bet I know something that'll stop you!" Danny shouts, and the attention of everyone in the room shifts from Hanna to Danny.

"It's the ghost boy!" Paulina cries, so excited she jumps out of her seat, sending her chair to the floor. Danny ignores her as he quickly uncaps the Thermos. The Box Ghost turns towards Danny only to see the beam of blue light coming for him. He's sucked in before he can even say anything.

Danny is suddenly aware that not only are all the students in the cafeteria looking at him, but Hanna and the rest of the paranormal investigators are too. Hanna begins walking through the cafeteria, trying to get near Phantom. Danny caps the Thermos and flies through the ceiling before Hanna can reach him. He drops into the front yard of the school behind a tree and turns back into Danny Fenton. He re-enters the school and walks into the cafeteria while everyone's backs are turned, joining Sam and Tucker at the table while the paranormal investigators run around trying to find a way to chase Phantom.

Danny smiles as the investigators run out of the cafeteria, knowing that they're only getting farther away from Phantom.


	9. Chapter 9 - Waiting

**Did I say weekly updates on Friday? Sorry, but I'm afraid that's not going to happen. Instead, expect a whole ton of chapters at once as I try to finish this story before school starts again and I have even less time to write (could that even happen?). I'm also thinking about starting a new DP fanfic (AFTER this one's finished, so don't worry!). It won't be a crossover; I'll tell you more when I finish this story.  
**

**Sorry for having such a long time gap between posting chapters. If it happens again, feel free to start reminding me, angrily demanding more, or sending death threats - whatever you prefer. It will probably get me to write more often, so it's worth a try. **

**Also, sorry for what I'm pretty sure is the shortest chapter I've written yet, and for having such a long Author's Note to make it look longer. That said, enjoy.  
**

**I do not own Hanna is Not a Boy's Name or Danny Phantom.**

* * *

Chapter Nine - Waiting

Finally, _something_ had gone right.

Sure, Phantom had flown out through the roof and they had lost him, but they'd seen him, and from what the kids at the mall said, he would show up again. Apparently a lot of ghost fights happened at the school, as they've already seen in the cafeteria. If they wait, another ghost will show up, and they'll get another chance to follow Phantom. They just have to lie low.

Hanna can barely keep himself from jumping up and down in glee. The only thing keeping his feet on the ground is the attempt to maintain what little he has of a professional image. Since he just used magic runes to attack the Box Ghost in the middle of a crowded cafeteria, all the students are alternately looking at him in awe and whispering to one another. Naturally, he likes this state of affairs, but unfortunately, if he wants Phantom to show up and let his guard down, Hanna will need the be low-key.

"Hey, guys, let's get out of here and talk things over," Hanna says. The group follows him out into the hallway, where they look at him expectantly, thinking he has a plan.

No such luck.

Instead, he tries to come up with one on the spot.

"So, I was thinking we'd just hang around the school," Hanna says. "Lay low, maybe talk to some of the teachers and kids if we can."

"And you think Phantom will magically appear?" Veser asks.

"Maybe," Hanna says. "If this place is as haunted as everyone says, it shouldn't be long."

"Alright," Veser says, drawing it out to show how little he trusts Hanna's plan.

"We'll meet back in front of the school after everyone's gone," Hanna says. "Then we can compare stories and see if we saw anything interesting."

Everyone starts walking off, trying to find a good place to spend the day before lunch period ends and kids swarm the halls.

Hanna sighs and walks around for a bit before deciding to stand in a small alcove near a water fountain. If he stands just right, you can't see him from a certain angle. Probably. He waits.

Bells ring, signalling the end of lunch. Swarms of kids rush through the halls, fumbling with lockers and textbooks, and disappear into classrooms. Ten minutes after the bell rings, the halls are empty.

Hanna sighs. Even though this is his plan, he's already beginning to regret it. He's not really the type of person who can spend any period of time doing nothing. He's always moving, talking, doing something. But now he's leaning against a wall in a high school, trying to keep from getting bored to death by playing with his magic marker. Every time the bell rings, Hanna straightens and tries to make out parts of the dozens of conversations students are having as they walk from class to class, but the fragments he picks up on don't seem very interesting or useful.

" . . . and then on Sunday we're heading to Disney . . ."

" . . . no way! And then she keeps going on and on about . . . "

" . . . Dumpty Humpty are performing here! That's . . . "

" . . . can't just ignore a ghost attack, but what if they see Phantom and . . . "

Phantom? It had to be Danny Phantom, didn't it? Hanna strained his ears to see if he could hear any more, and when that failed, poked his head out of the alcove to see if he could spot who'd been talking. As best as he could guess, it was someone in the crowd of people heading to an English class. The people in the hallway dissipated, and soon there was no one left.

Hanna wanted more than anything to break down the door to the classroom and find out who'd been talking about Phantom, and what they knew, but he couldn't. For one thing, he probably wasn't strong enough to kick down the door, but more importantly, it would blow their cover. Sure, every bit of info about Phantom helped, but seeing him in person was a lot more important, and he couldn't blow his cover (again) to risk losing that.

So instead, Hanna sat down in his little alcove, waiting for the next bell to ring.

And planning what he'd do when it did.


	10. Chapter 10 - Not That Lucky

**Hello! And welcome to another tiny chapter! We're getting to the exciting part now, so chapters should be up more frequently - and should be longer than this one. Read and review - seeing that people actually read this motivates me to write more, which means faster updates!  
**

**This chapter takes place during Chapter 9, but it follows Danny instead of Hanna. **

**I do not own Hanna is Not a Boy's Name or Danny Phantom.**

* * *

Chapter Ten - Not That Lucky

The break between History and English is the first time Danny gets a chance to talk to Sam about what happened during lunch period.

"You think they're gone for good?" Danny asks.

"We're not that lucky. I don't think they've left quite yet," Sam answers. "They're definitely determined, and now that they've seen you here, I don't think they would leave."

"But they might have," Danny says.

"Maybe, but I don't think so."

Sam takes a deep breath and closes her eyes, steeling herself for what she has to say next.

"Danny, I know Tucker and I have been telling you not to worry, but we were wrong. Hanna and the other investigators _are_ a threat. You saw what Hanna did to the Box Ghost. He could do that to you."

Danny thinks that over for a moment.

"But he's trying to follow me, not destroy me," Danny says. "I don't think he'd do anything that would make that harder for him."

"It wouldn't make anything harder for him" Sam says. "Every time he almost has you, you manage to get away, because you have your powers. But if you were weak, that wouldn't happen. You wouldn't be able to fly away as fast, and he would be able to follow you."

"Good point," Danny says. He thinks for a moment. "Still, I'm sure if he attacks Phantom, Paulina will throw a fit. She wouldn't want 'the ghost boy' to be hurt when she tries to hit on him."

"Danny, I'm not saying he _will_ attack you, I'm just saying he might. He's probably desperate by now, and desperate people take desperate measures."

"So what am I supposed to do?" Danny asks. "I know I can't just ignore a ghost attack, but what if they see Phantom and manage to figure things out? What if he blasts me out of the sky and - "

"I don't know," Sam says. "I don't know how to handle this any better than you do. I'm just warning you."

"Well, the warning might not do much good. If a ghost shows up, I'm going to have to step in and deal with it," Danny says, crossing his arms.

"I know," Sam says, her voice quiet. Danny begins to walk in the door to Mr. Lancer's English class, but Sam grabs his arm.

"Just - just be careful, Danny," she says.

"I will," he says, and the two walk into class.


	11. Chapter 11 - False Hope?

**Wow. Just . . . wow.**

**After I put the last chapter up and did some writing for my other story, I decided to check the stats for this story. It was then that I saw that this story now has over 1,000 views. That means a lot to me. Lately I've had some moments of wondering if I could ever be a writer people would actually like to read, and if my writing had any worth at all. To come on here and see that there have been over a thousand moments where someone decides to take a look at one of the chapters of this story feels incredible. You guys are the best!  
**

**And I am a total jerk for not putting up a new chapter for so long. **

**I'm really sorry, we have so many projects going on at my house now that we're basically moving. In addition, I started two writing-intensive classes and began prepping for the SAT. I haven't had much time to write lately, but I am not abandoning this story yet. It might not have as many chapters as I had said, but I will finish it. In fact, I'd like to have it wrapped up by the end of October - I'll start writing more once the SAT has passed. How awesome would that be? No more waiting weeks for chapters, at least, which should be a good thing, as we're approaching the climax.  
**

**I was going to apologize for a short chapter until I realized this is longer than the last few chapters I've given you. I'm used to putting up 2,000 word+ chapters for my other story, I guess. Anyways, enjoy the chapter!  
**

**I do not own Hanna is Not a Boy's Name or Danny Phantom.**

* * *

Chapter Eleven - False Hope?

"No sightings," Conrad says.

"Nope," Toni agrees. Phantom hasn't shown up all day.

"So what are we supposed to do now that your brilliant plan failed?" Veser asks.

"I wouldn't say it's _failed_," Hanna says. "Maybe it didn't do as well as I'd thought, but I did overhear something rather _interesting_ concerning Phantom."

"What, someone said, 'Hey, I know all of Phantom's secrets and I'm going to list them here in the middle of a crowded hallway'?" Veser asks.

"No," Hanna says. "But they did say something that makes it sound like they know Phantom - that Phantom can't ignore a ghost attack, and they're worried about us seeing him."

Silence. No cries of joy or exclamations of surprise. Just silence.

"Hanna, that doesn't mean that they know anything about Phantom," Toni finally says. "A lot of the kids at this school practically worship him. A passing mention like that probably isn't anything special."

"I agree," the zombie says.

"But we should still check it out," Hanna says. "What if they end up knowing something that can help us?"

Toni sighs. "I guess it could be worth a try. Who said the thing about Phantom?"

"I didn't see who it was," Hanna admits.

"Great. Just fucking great," Conrad says. "We drive out to this little town hoping for what, exactly? An easy case? Because that happens for us _so fucking much_. And then you pin your hopes on a little throwaway comment. Face it, we don't have a lead, we don't have a way to track this guy. We're wandering around blindly, trying to do the impossible and follow a ghost that can turn invisible, fly faster than we can even drive, and pass through walls."

Hanna can't deny this.

"I'm going back to the hotel," Conrad says.

"That's a good idea. I think I'm going to start packing," Toni says.

"Wha - You're ready to leave, just like that?" Hanna asks.

"Just like what? It's been days without anything to help us, this isn't something we'll solve any time soon," Toni says. "Maybe taking a break and going back home will give you a different perspective."

Could that be it? Does he just need a different perspective? Hanna isn't sure.

"Fine," Hanna says, reluctant to let the others leave when he feels _so close he's almost there_. "I'll meet you back there."

"If you can find the way," Veser mutters. Toni, Veser, and Conrad set out for the hotel, but the zombie stays behind.

"It's fine, Julius," Hanna says. "I just need some time to think."

"If that's what you need," the zombie says. He turns to follow the others, but stops.

"Phantom is tricky, but I think you'll be able to figure him out," he says, then begins walking to catch up to the others. Hanna smiles. At least someone still believes in him. Hanna just hopes that belief isn't misguided.

He looks up at the school. What had he heard?_ " . . . can't just ignore a ghost attack, but what if they see Phantom and . . . " _

Conrad was right, that isn't a lead. He hadn't even seen who'd said it, so he doesn't know who had such opinions about Phantom. It certainly isn't anything that would help them figure out where Phantom spends so much of his time. Still, there's something about what he heard that makes Hanna think that it might have more to do with finding Phantom than Conrad thinks.

It's the word _but_, Hanna decides. Like whoever was talking was weighing two options, ignoring a ghost attack and Phantom being seen, as if they had some influence in the decision. Like they could decide whether Phantom would respond to the attack or not. Of course, no one could have that much influence on a ghost. It wasn't as if they could stop Phantom from responding to an attack.

It wasn't the first thing he'd heard about Phantom that hadn't quite added up, though.

For example, the ghost Technus at the mall. _"Your grades betray your ignorance, child."_ Why would a ghost have grades? He wouldn't, right? Unless he was still going to school. There was no way, it couldn't happen. Even if a ghost could go to school, why would he?

Who cares about motivation? That could be the solution, couldn't it? If Phantom was passing himself off as a student, both of the odd statements made sense. Phantom would be getting grades and deciding whether or not to respond to a ghost attack. That would even explain why the school was attacked so much - it was where Phantom was. He could be dressing up in normal clothes and phasing through them when he needed to fight - what the Fentons had told Hanna proved that he could be solid when he wanted to be. The white hair wouldn't be so easy to cover up, but a wig or thick hat could hide it.

The more he thinks through his idea, the more Hanna decides it makes sense. If Phantom disguises himself as a student, pretty much all questions are answered. The only problem will be finding which student is Phantom. He probably won't just admit it, especially to Hanna or his friends.

That shouldn't be too much of a problem after all, Hanna realizes. The kid in the hallway - Phantom - was talking to someone else, not himself. That means someone else knows his secret. Someone knows who Danny Phantom is. Hanna just has to find out who.

Ecstatic with the breakthrough, Hanna lets out an excited whoop before running towards the hotel. Wait until the others hear this.


End file.
